Artemis Fowl and the Giant Squid and more
by CrazyGirlyCaptain
Summary: A series of short ficlets involving Arty and his fairy friends that may or may not be related to each other.
1. Artemis and the Giant Squid

**A/N: I'm part of a writing website and we've been doing these things called Daily Challenges. I wrote this for our Terrible Tuesday challenge on June 8 - "**

**What wicked thing shall we do to your characters today? What about if we kill off the person closest to her/him, the person he or she depends on the most? Write a short scene where the person your character cares about most is dead. Not some peaceful, in-their-sleep dead, but something violent and unexpected. Even better if your character witnessed/is witnessing it. Or maybe your character could have saved them, but arrived too late to stop it. However you like. You have until next Tuesday's challenge goes up!"**

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Holly asked tentatively, watching as Artemis put on the scuba gear. After all the years they'd been having adventures, he was still short enough to fit into the fairy-sized clothing. It reminded Holly of how young he really was, even for a human.

They were in a sub that was circling the city of Atlantis, preparing a rescue mission. Mulch Diggums was inside Atlantis, which was in danger of being destroyed quite soon by Opal Koboi. The dwarf would be one of the few in the city without the adaptation of gills. If the city was blown up, he would drown for sure if the explosion didn't kill him.

"Of course, Captain," the boy answered impatiently. He'd had this conversation many times with Holly in the past. "It's a simple plan. All I need to do is swim underneath the city without being seen by the giant squid so I can get in and get Mulch out. He should be able to hold his breath for long enough to return here, seeing as he once escaped from a deep-sea sub without an air tank. Once I get Mulch back here, we'll get back to the surface and regroup with Butler and Foaly."

Sure the plan sounded simple, but it wasn't the complexity of the plan that worried Holly. Artemis had been put in plenty of dangerous situations before – going to the Arctic to rescue his father from the Russian Mafia, being chased by trolls, travelling through time – but during all those adventures he'd had Holly at his side to protect him. There was only so much this human was going to be able to take, only so many more healings before even magic couldn't hold him together anymore. Only so much time was left before his luck would run out.

"You're right, Mud Boy." She nodded and tried to sound confident. "Just go quickly. If we're lucky the squid will be swimming around the other side of the city."

Giant squids were known among fairies as being very dangerous and vicious creatures. They were often confused with krakens by the Mud Men, but krakens are peace-loving creatures, and are so large that they spend most of their lives floating harmlessly on the surface of the ocean disguised as islands.

Artemis nodded as his donned his helmet, checking to see that air was coming in. He opened a hatch on the bottom of the sub. This hatch lead to a chamber that would, once the hatch was closed, release him into the ocean. Artemis would be swimming much deeper down than any human had ever gone. This was only possible through the use of the fairy's technology.

Artemis climbed down into the hatch, closing the door behind him. He felt anxious as he heard the hatch lock behind him. This was probably one of the most dangerous things he had ever done. He was venturing into the deepest ocean any human had ever gone, with only a giant squid for company. Holly was there with him in spirit of course, and would be talking to him through his helmet's speaker, but he still felt very alone as the chamber's bottom opened up into the dark ocean.

It was much darker, and much colder than Artemis had expected. The blackness seemed to be pushing against his suit, trying to find any weak points that could be used to kill him. Artemis knew that despite how well made fairy technology was, it would not be able to withstand the pressure for long.

A long ways ahead of him, Artemis thought he could see the faints lights of what was probably the city of Atlantis. It was hard to judge the distance, but he didn't think it was too far. He checked to see that his air tank was still functional and set off, using the suits jet packs to propel himself.

As he went along he had become so used to the silence that when he heard Holly's voice coming in through his helmet's speakers, he jumped.

"How's it going Mud Boy?" she sounded worried, but also like she was trying to sound cheerful and confident. "Any sign of the squid yet?"

"No, Holly. The squid could be right in front of me and I wouldn't know. We underestimated how low the visibility would be down here."

"Well you could come back and-"

"Holly you know full well that there's barely enough air in the tank to get me there and back. There's no time to come back. I shall just have to get there as quickly as I can and hope that the squid does not show himself."

Holly was quiet on the other end of the connection. She knew that Artemis was right. They would just have to hope for the best.

Artemis had been in the water for about twenty minutes when a wave of fear washed over him. He wasn't sure what was wrong, but it felt like something was in the water nearby. Something big.

"...Holly?" He whispered, not wanting anything to attract the monster's attention.

"Yeah Artemis? Something wrong?"

"Not yet...but I think the squid is nearby."

"D'Arvit!" she swore. "Just keep going Artemis, maybe if leave it alone it will do the same for you."

"Yes, that's probably- AGH!"

Artemis' words were cut off as one of the giant squid's tentacles struck him across the chest rather hard, pushing him back, away from his destination.

"Artemis? What happened?"

Artemis couldn't answer. The squid, who had no trouble seeing in the inky blackness of the water, kept striking him again and again from different directions. The jet pack was utterly smashed, and if Artemis wanted to get away, he would have to swim back to the sub. But what direction was it in?

The next strike that came threw Artemis to the ocean floor. He struck a rock and heard a crack. A broken bone would have been better than this – a large crack could be seen in the front glass of his helmet. It hadn't yet completely penetrated it, but Artemis knew he had to get back to the submarine or drown.

But Artemis was being held down by the squid, who was apparently done playing with his food and deciding which limb it was going to tear off and eat first.

The crack deepened.

"Holly? Holly are you there?" Artemis spoke quickly, knowing he didn't have much time.

"Yes Mud Boy I'm here. What in the name of Frond is happening down there?"

"It's the squid Holly. I – I don't have much time and there's something I have to say." He was surprised when he felt warm tears running down his cheeks. He normally wasn't this emotional.

"What is it?"

"Holly...I'm sorry. For everything I've put you through. I'm sorry about all the times I lied to you. But I am not sorry I kidnapped you. If it wasn't for that we'd never have met. I lov-"

All Holly heard was static as the crack in Artemis' helmet finally broke, and water rushed in, the pressure killing him instantly.

"Artemis? _ARTEMIS?_ Answer me _right now!"_

No answer came.

"No!" Holly slammed her fists onto the console of the submarine, for a moment planning on ramming it into the squid. But she knew it wouldn't do any good. The squid would crush the sub easily.

Holly's knees buckled and she fell to the floor of the sub, not able to stop herself from sobbing. She thought she could hear someone's voice coming in through the speakers, but it wasn't Artemis so she didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore. Opal would win and all the citizens of Atlantis would die. Without Artemis, all was lost.

**A/N: I hope you enjoyed it. I really had fun writing it. I actually do like Arty, but I seem to kill him a lot in my fanfics.**


	2. Bitterness

**A/N: I wrote this one for a Thematic Thursday challenge we had. The theme was bitterness. Enjoy! Please review! :)**

They were in the study at Fowl Manor. After an accident underground that involved Opal Koboi and Holly's superior officer Commander Trouble Kelp, she had spoken to Trouble straightaway to find out what had happened. He said that before she attacked, Opal had told him who had sent her. Holly had flown to Ireland right away to speak with a certain Mud Boy.

"Artemis I don't care _why_ you did it; I just care that you did. You've been lying to me for years. _Years_. And I've forgiven you every time. Foaly doesn't know why and quite honestly I don't either. Did you think I wouldn't find out? Well? Say something Mud Boy." The elf captain crossed her arms and waited for the boy to speak.

"I thought... I thought..well, I don't know what I was thinking," the boy hung his head.

"You _weren't _thinking Artemis. That's the point. If you were you would not have found that it was alright to go to Opal Koboi of all people. How can she fix anything? She only destroys." Holly's eyes filled up with tears. With a frustrated sigh she wiped them away. "And now Commander Trouble is in the hospital. We've got all the best warlocks healing him, but they don't know if that's enough. With what Opal is capable of..."

In the past Opal had caused quite a lot of trouble with the LEP, Lower Elements Police, for using the brain fluids of animals to increase her magical abilities with dangerous results.

Artemis seemed to be having a battle with himself. Several times he opened his mouth as though about to speak but quickly closed it again. Finally he took a deep breath and spoke. "I thought he was taking you away from me."

Holly thought she had heard him wrong.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I thought he was taking you away from me. These blasted hormones got the better of me. It won't happen again."

Normally Holly would have laughed at Artemis using the phrase "these blasted hormones", but she wasn't in the mood.

"I don't care Artemis. You're better than this. I know you are. I think...I think I need some time to cool off. Don't call me for a while, alright? Just don't."

And with that, she started her mechanical wings that were on the back of her LEP suit. She jumped from the open window and flew away. Artemis watched until she was out of sight.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.


	3. Bloodshot

**A/N: I wrote this for a Freewrite Friday on the writing website. The majority of the members on this site have only heard of AF because of me so I had to explain a bit about the fact that there's two Opals running around. The reason this is so short is because I wrote it in a few minutes. For the Freewrite Fridays we'll be given a prompt and the prompt was 'bloodshot'. **

**For those of you reading this, I would really appreciate it if you would give me suggestions for what to write about. I have a few more ficlets to upload, but after that I would love some new ideas. So please either post it in a review, or send me a message or email or something. Gratias maximas tibi ago!**

Captain Holly Short didn't think it would ever happen – the one puzzle Artemis Fowl couldn't solve. They sat across from each other at the small table in Artemis's study.

"I _know_ she escaped for a reason. I just don't understand _how_," the boy said, frustration clear in his voice. He held his head in his hands. Artemis was talking about Opal Koboi, who had recently broken herself out of prison.

"Artemis," Holly sighed. "You need to take a break from all this. Go rest." It worried her to see Artemis this way. He was hardly ever frustrated, or at least he didn't show it.

"Rest? Captain, how can I rest when there are _two_ Opal's running around out there?" He leaned across the table and grasped the elf's shoulders. Up close, she could see that his eyes were bloodshot and he looked like he was about to pass out. "I can't rest Holly," he was practically whispering now. He sounded really tired. "She killed Commander Root. She's tried to kill all of us so many times...I need to stop her."

"You don't need to bear the weight off all this alone Mud Boy," Holly smiled a little. "That's what friends are for, remember?"

Artemis tried to smile back, but a smile would not come. It was time for the Irish genius to do what he did best – plot.


	4. Not a Secret Any More

**A/N: Sorry the stuff I've been uploading is so short. I've been super busy lately and I've not had as much time as I would like to devote to writing. Also, these Daily Challenges on the writing website I'm part of are not meant to take long. Originally the challenge was going to close at the end of the day (although we changed it to one week so those who really wanted to participate would not be stopped by any time restrictions due to busy summer schedules). If you could take the time to review I would really appreciate it! :)**

**The first line that is in italics is from the song "Hey Soul Sister". This was written for the Serenade Saturday Challenge. In this challenge we use songs to inspire our writing.**

_I want the world to see you'll be with me_

"Thank you Artemis," Holly said, looking up into his different colour eyes that matched her own. "You've been a great help to the LEP."

They stood at the entrance of Police Plaza surrounded by press and other LEP officers. Once again, Artemis had been able to save the fairy world from Opal Koboi. Unfortunately, it had only been the Opal from their own time, who had been broken out of prison by her past self. Although their Opal was back behind bars (or in her case a small box at the bottom of the ocean near the city of Atlantis), they still had no idea where the past Opal had gone off to. However, they were happy about their small victory in the continuous battle against Opal Koboi.

"It was my pleasure, Captain," Artemis smiled. "Please let me know as soon as I can be of assistance again.

"Artemis I-" There was something the LEP officer wanted to say to her friend, but wasn't sure if she should, in front of the press and everybody. They could count on two hands how many knew how close the elf and human had become over the years, but Holly was sick of hiding her friendship with Artemis. To the fairy world, they were simply partners when it came time to stop another one of Opal Koboi's schemes, but now everyone would know exactly where Holly stood when it came to Artemis Fowl.

"Take care of yourself Mud Boy." Holly stood up on her toes and pulling Artemis's head down to her level she kissed him gently on the lips. "Say hello to Butler for me."

_No turning back now_, she thought as the footage of the moment was streamed throughout Haven.


	5. Lost Memories

**A/N: This might not be a one-shot like the other stuff I've posted. In fact, I will most definitely be continuing this with some awesomesauce A/H stuff. Please review! :)**

Artemis was at home in his bed. Not plotting. Not exploiting anyone. Not building super computers out of stolen fairy technology. The Irish genius had been in an accident several days previously after the LEP had gotten a lead on Opal Koboi's location and had gone after her. The location had been correct, but it wasn't what they expected. After the rock slide she had been caught under before her initial escape, they had expected her to be weak, injured, not prepared for their attack, but she was waiting for them and Artemis had been the target of her revenge.

Captain Holly Short stood at his bedside, with Butler guarding the door to his charge's room. The captain was there to attempt another healing, but wasn't sure how much good it would do. After all, the first two healings had done nothing to wake the boy. She looked at her friend, who was pale as death. This was how he usually looked of course, but it had seemed worse to Holly the last few days.

"Alright – third time's the charm." She muttered to herself, placing her hands on Artemis's chest and allowing her magic to flow out of her. For the third time in as many days, his body was enveloped in a blue light, before all the magic went towards his head. That was obviously where the injury had occurred, though the best LEP doctors were unable to find anything physically wrong with it. As far as they could tell, the boy simply wouldn't wake up.

The magic faded as it was absorbed into Artemis. Nothing had changed. He looked like he was sleeping, nothing more, and no amount of magic could wake him up.

"Anything?" a voice spoke in Holly's earpiece.

"Nothing, Foaly," she sighed. "I don't understand it. What's wrong with him? He should be awake by now."

"I don't know Holly, I really don't. Tell me again what happened. Everything you remember."

"He was hit with _something_, but I didn't see what. There wasn't a mark on him before the healings though! We looked and looked but-"

"Could it have been magic?"

"What?"

"Magic – could magic have hit him? Opal could have blasted him with something."

"Well yeah, I suppose it's _possible_, but we have no way of knowing what hit him, not now after all the healings."

There was nothing they could do but wait for him to wake up.

Luckily, they wouldn't have long to wait. The next day Artemis rose from his bed, looking tired, and a bit paler than normal, but otherwise healthy. However, it was quickly clear that something was wrong with him.

Holly Short had been given a short vacation to oversee Artemis's recovery after the accident. The LEP had recognized the danger he'd been putting himself in all these years for the good of the People and wanted to make sure he would be around to help them again if the need arose.

Holly was the first to see him after he woke up, and the first to realise what was wrong.

"Artemis!" she rushed to stand at his bedside when she saw him open his eyes. "Are you alright?"

The boy gave her a puzzled look and shook his head, but didn't speak yet.

"What is it? You're head – does it hurt? That's where you got hit wasn't it?"

Artemis shook his head again and closed his eyes.

"Artemis. Artemis, what is it?"

Then his spoke, so quietly and quickly that Holly wasn't sure she had heard anything at all. "You're speaking to me like you know me girl which is definitely not the case so I would appreciate it if you would leave me and get Butler."

"I-I'm sorry. What?"

"You heard me."Artemis sat up, and glared at her. "Go get Butler."

Holly felt like she'd been slapped. How could Artemis have forgotten her? What had happened? Instead of trying to speak to him again though, she did as he had requested and left his room to fetch Butler. The look of shock from what had just happened must have shown on her face because as soon as she closed the door behind her, Butler asked, "What happened?"

"He woke up."

"And? Did he tell you what happened?"

"He doesn't remember any of it. He doesn't remember me."

"Well maybe this is a blessing in disguise," Foaly said in her earpiece.

"How so Foaly?" she said, gritting her teeth.

"I mean, we wanted to have him mind-wiped a few years ago and now it's finally happened. We could just leave him be. We don't have to have anything to do with humans anymore!"

"But we _need_ him Foaly. We need his help to stop Opal! It's our fault this happened to him and now we're just going to _leave_ him?"

"I don't see what else we can do Holly. I know it's a bit cruel to leave him like this, but I don't see what we can do! You've healed him three times Holls."

"And I'll heal him a hundred more times if I have to!"

"_What_ is all this yelling about? Butler! There you are!" Artemis had left his room. He wore a scarlet coloured robe over his pyjamas. "I thought I asked you to get Butler."

"I _did_ get him." Holly had forgotten how annoying Artemis could be. "We were just on our wa-"

"Butler," Artemis interrupted. "Could you escort this young woman out of the Manor please?"

Holly wasn't going to listen to any more of this. "Young woman?" She stood up straighter, but of course still wasn't taller than three feet. "I'll have you know that I am nearly a century old! What is wrong with you Artemis?" She sighed angrily. "Come on!" she grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his bedroom. "We've got to figure things out."

They'd been in his bedroom for nearly an hour and although they hadn't figured out what had happened to him, they had discovered how much damage had been done.

Artemis sat crossed-legged on his bed with Holly sitting across from him in an armchair. The boy's eyes were closed and his fingertips were raised to massage his temples as though all the information given to him was causing him pain.

"So let me check that I've understood all this. I kidnapped you five-"

"Eight actually. I forgot to tell you about Hybras."

"Fine. I kidnapped you eight years ago and since then, we've become friends?"

Holly nodded. "Yes. But you've lost your memories."

"I see...And how did this happen?"

"We're ah...not sure yet. We're working on it though."

"Well I'm not sure that I believe you yet, but as there seem to be huge gaps in my memory it seems I have no choice to listen to you for now."

"Good, because I know a lot more than you do about what you've been doing for the last five years."

"I thought you said we knew each other for eight years?"

"Well I suppose you could think of it that way. But we technically skipped over three of those years."

Artemis looked distressed. Talk of time travel was too much for him at the moment.

"I'm sorry Artemis; I know this must be hard on you right now. Seven years of your memory gone. But it's not all bad."

Artemis nodded. She was right. He had thought his father was still missing in Russia and his mother bedridden after losing her mind, but he had come to find out that they were both doing well and that he had two younger brothers.

"And I'm sorry Arty, I really am, but we need you to do something."

"What might that be Captain Short?"

"Opal Koboi, the pixie I told you about, well, she's still out there."

"And you need my help to track her down?" Artemis grinned.

"Yeah, Mud Boy, we need your help. But first, we have to see about getting your memories back."

Underground in Haven City, Foaly was sitting in the Operations Booth and looking at a scan of Artemis's brain that Holly had sent him.

"I don't know if I can do it Holly."

"What do you mean?" Holly was still aboveground but had gone into Artemis's study to speak with Foaly privately.

"I mean I don't see any possible way of getting his memories back. If I knew what Opal did to him maybe, but we haven't got a clue."

"So he'll never remember?"

"I don't know. Maybe something will trigger the memories and they'll come back. But maybe nothing will work and he'll never remember."


End file.
